School generates over RM15,000 with mushroom project

A mushrooming business: PTA members of SK Bakong picking mushrooms to sell to wholesalers at Pasar Jelawat, Bachok. — Bernama

BACHOK: A school here turned innovative and is able to earn additional income of more than RM15,000 for the past one year by cultivating mushrooms.

Implemented by the parents’ toolkit (Sarana Ibu Bapa) since May last year, the grey oyster mushrooms (cendawan tiram kelabu) cultivated at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Bakong here is a first for the state.

“We are also earning an additional net profit of RM1,800 for split gill mushrooms (cendawan kukur or kulat sisir) cultivation for a two-month period in April to May this year,” said its Parent Teacher Association (PTA) president Azman Ag Noh.

“Currently, we have 10,000 bags of grey oyster mushrooms and 500 bags of split gill mushrooms,” he said.

Also present were the school’s PTA vice-president and mushrooms entrepreneur Haslina Ya.

Azman said an old canteen building was renovated and turned into a shelter to house the mushrooms spawning bags, with all the nutrients and mushroom spores pre-packaged.

“The project was mooted by the school’s ??former headmaster Fadhil Hassan. It has helped to generate additional income for the school as it is located in the rural area.

“Through the discussions held at the PTA meeting, we reached a consensus to start the project with 1,000 bags of grey oyster mushrooms that we sourced from Thailand and Indonesia,” he said.

The mushrooms cultivation project also received attention from several schools including SK Jelawat, SK Kubang Telaga, SK Sri Kemunting, SK Seri Kemudi, SK Bachok, SK Chantum while schools in other districts such as SK Cabang Tiga Chetok (Pasir Mas) and SK Gua Musang have also expressed interest to implement similar ideas.

Azman said there were additional 5,000 bags of grey oyster mushrooms and 500 bags of split gill mushrooms under the administration of the new school’s headmaster Amran Zakaria.

“On average, we sell about 15kg of grey oyster mushrooms daily at RM10 per kg to wholesalers at the Pasar Jelawat, while for split gill mushrooms, they are priced at RM40 per kg.

“The parents also support the project by carrying out constant moni­toring, particularly the temperature and humidity in the shelter, twice a day,” he said.